This invention relates to electrical treatment apparatus for the application of a medical diagnostic or therapeutic treatment to individual patients, especially children.
In particular, the invention relates to a handheld device for applying electrical impulses to the body of the patient through the skin for treating a variety of clinical conditions.
The present invention in one aspect is a development of the treatment device disclosed in our earlier published patent application WO 2005/118061, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Various forms of electrical treatment apparatus employing electromagnetic radiation or having electrical control circuitry are well known, and constitute standard equipment in a Doctor's surgery or clinic or in a hospital. For example, it is known to employ handheld scanning devices using electromagnetic radiation for assistance in the diagnosis of certain clinical conditions and in the development of medical treatments. It is also known to employ the handheld device described in our above application for applying a medical therapeutic treatment in a wide variety of clinical conditions by means of electrical stimulus.
When the patient is an adult, the use of such devices is generally straightforward and a doctor or medical assistant simply carries out the required task by placing the patient in the desired treatment position and implementing the steps appropriate to the medical application concerned and according to the function of the device. However, when the patient is a child, problems may arise through the child fidgeting, getting bored and refusing to remain still in the necessary treatment position. This can be a significant problem, since it may compromise the treatment.